The Enemy of My Enemy is Still My Enemy
by Miss Tablo
Summary: Loki crashes back to Earth again, but SHIELD may need his help with a new mission.
1. Chapter 1

******Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**A/N I was a huge fan of Norse Mythology way before I even started reading Marvel comics or watched Thor and the Avengers. I'm going to use those characters that I am used to in this story, which might have been mentioned in the comics (I haven't read a lot yet), so please don't call me out for inaccuracies or inconsistencies. I get these characters from an anime that was focused on Norse mythology.**

**Takes place after the Avengers Assemble movie.**

**Summary: Loki crashes back to Earth again and lands on a roadside in Canada. He is found by a nineteen year old girl named Haylie Park. Unfortunately, SHIELD finds Loki within ten minutes and locks both him and Haylie up. However, the Avengers find that they may need Loki's help when it comes to fighting a new enemy, who wants both Loki and Haylie dead.**

******Chapter 1 Banishment**

"What brings you to Midgard, Loki?" Skuld, one of the three Norn sisters suspiciously gazed at the god of mischief at the doorway. "Visiting family, perhaps? You should be locked up for all of the destruction and chaos you've created. Why did your father let you come here?"

"Because Vidarr invited me here," Loki practically hissed back at her with distaste. "I have been obedient and following orders as per usual. Getting on my nerves will not aid with my temper."

"Is your brother here with you?"

With a frown, Loki gave the tall, silver-haired goddess a look of utter distain. "Thor is on Earth, associating himself with those annoying mortals. I ask you not to speak of him to me again."

When Loki was finally brought towards Vidarr, the god of vengeance was sitting in a chair, comfortably reading a book. The door closed behind Loki, enclosing him inside the tension-filled room.

"I never thought I would ask you to step inside my chambers," Vidarr spoke ominously. "Especially now that your name is now uttered across the lands with bitter distain."

"What is it you want?" Loki almost snapped.

Vidarr stood up and strode slowly over to Loki. He was taller by almost a foot and had long brown hair with black eyes. There was no amusement on his face. "I want your head on a stick," he whispered into Loki's ear. "I want to watch you suffer. There are many things I want to see, but I cannot do them myself. After all, Odin is my uncle."

The two gods glared each other down. "You can do whatever you want to me, since I am not Odin's son," Loki challenged.

"I will not attack you. I mustn't." There was a gleam in Vidarr's eye. "Especially not while you are in my palace in Midgard."

Loki turned and headed towards the door. "I do not see why you called me out here." Inside his head, Loki's mind was spinning. Thousands of thoughts crossed his mind, making Loki suspicious of his cousin.

"I just wanted to say… goodbye Loki."

Without another word, Loki turned and exited the room.

As he was being escorted back to Asgard, under the watchful eyes of his guardians, Loki fumbled with his hands in his pockets. Thor had long ago figured out a way back to Earth, using a gemstone that was created from the tesseract. Thor himself had forged two of these gemstones in order to travel between Earth and Asgard. Unknowingly to his brother, Loki had taken one before Thor had left.

The next thing he knew, Loki had fallen off his horse. Actually, he had been slammed off his horse by a hurling object. Rolling across the ground, he tried to get up only to be kicked in the ribcage.

"Long time no see."

Beaten up, Loki looked up at his attacker. His escorts had all fallen and were unconscious. They were at the border between Midgard and Asgard, so there was nobody in sight. It was just the two.

"Freyr."

"Glad that you remember me."

Before Freyr could land another punch, Loki grabbed onto his arms and pulled them back. With grunts and struggles, the two ended up rolling on the ground in a furious attempt to knock the other out. Loki had been stripped of his weapons, but the other god had a sword.

"Let me guess," Loki hissed, panting heavily from the fight, "Vidarr sent you to kill me."

"Oh how perceptive of you. Although Vidarr gave me orders, I intend to act on my own personal will. When I get rid of you Loki, no one will know who did it and no one will care. Those guards," Freyr gestured to the unconscious men, "will think that you attacked them. They will never search for anyone in Midgard."

They fought for several more minutes, Loki slowly starting to fall because of his lack of a weapon. He started to run behind the trees when Freyr used his power.

"Does Freyja know you are here?" Loki shouted as he scrambled to search for a weapon. Freyja was Freyr's twin sister.

"She is the reason I have come today." Freyr found Loki crouched behind a bush and pointed his sword at the god. "I am here to avenge her name."

"Please do not use the word 'avenge' in any sentence," Loki muttered. "I would rather you stab me."

"Do you know how much trouble you have caused us?" Freyr roared with rage. "Do you know how much I despise you? You, Loki Odinson, are nothing but a heartless, mischievous, chaotic god. I will be doing the entire world a favour by ending your life." His sword was an inch away from Loki's nose.

Loki had held up his hands but his expression was calm. "I have done nothing but been a good friend to you all these years," he spoke with a soothing tone. "All those troubles I caused were not on purpose."

"Lies," Freyr hissed. "You will finally pay for all the pain you put my sister through." He held up his hand. A shiny ring with a ruby stone flashed at Loki. "Do you recognize this?"

Loki gulped. "That's the Seal of Solomon."

"That's right. It can be used to control demons and animals. What you didn't know, however, was that it could be used to take people's souls." The mischief god had known, but kept his tongue silent. "After I kill you, I'm going to take your soul and bring it to Vidarr."

Loki had been contemplating about using the gem. He didn't necessarily want to face anyone from SHIELD or the Avengers, and most unenthusiastically his brother. Conflicted, he stared into the eyes of his former friends. There wasn't enough time. He would have to act fast, and it looked like he had only one choice. Freyr had slightly lowered his sword.

Just as Freyr was about to strike, Loki had taken out the gemstone with one hand, and grabbed Freyr's wrist with the other. Loki instantly dropped the stone onto the forest floor. They both fell the ground as the gemstone flashed a brilliant blue light.

After the flash of blinding light ceased, Loki felt himself falling. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was hurling towards the Earth's surface at an incredible speed. He closed his eyes again to brace himself for the landing.

* * *

Haylie Park was worried. She was quickly driving back to her hometown in order to take her biology exam at her university. It had been deferred because her grandmother had fallen ill the day before her original exam. The city was only three hours away, but she had to miss her exam. Haylie had spent weeks studying for it, so she was anxious to take it.

At nineteen years old, she was struggling between her job and her studies. Haylie lived in a dorm on campus, moving out of her grandmother's house just last year. She was hoping to become a doctor.

Her exam was in two hours, but Haylie was still in view of the mountains. She needed to drive away from the plains as soon as possible.

"Holy-!" Haylie screamed when a meteor seemingly came out of nowhere in the middle of her lane. She managed to drive around the crater in the pavement, but her car ended up in the oilfields. After smashing into the small fence, her car roughly, but at a slow velocity, flipped to its side. She finished braking and tried to breathe again from beneath the airbag.

Haylie unbuckled her seatbelt and gently opened the car door. She hopped off the end of her car and wiped sweat off her forehead. It was extremely hot outside. After the initial shock escaped her, Haylie walked towards the road.

"Seriously? No cars stopped to help?" The cars that were on the highway simply drove around the crater and continued on their way. Shaking her head angrily, Haylie walked over the crater to see what had nearly hit her.

The dust had finally settled all around her, and Haylie peered into the crater with astonished eyes. "It's a man!" She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Haylie started to jump up and down out of shock and fear. "What do I do? Do I call the police? Do I tell them a man just fell out of the sky? What if they think that I killed him? Wait, how the hell does a body make a dent that size in the concrete?"

Since the number of cars that came by had dropped, Haylie fell to her knees and patted the man on his shoulder. "He's definitely real," Haylie muttered. A bitter feeling filled her stomach. She turned away from the supposedly dead man. "Okay, since I don't have a cellphone, I just need to ask someone for help. Pull yourself together, Haylie Park. It's not the first time you've seen a dead body."

She stood up and started waving at the cars in the opposite lane.

"LOKI!"

Haylie whipped around in surprise. Near her car stood another man who was red-faced with fury. The man was covered in dirt and mud and held a sword in his hand. Scared, Haylie ran off to the side of the road and kept her distance from the man.

Freyr marched right over to the crater and stared down at the other man. He jabbed his sword at Loki's side.

"He's dead," Haylie shouted. "Don't be disrespectful."

Freyr turned his head with a grimace. There was a bit of blood on his temple. He fixed a deadly glare at Haylie. "You healed him," he snarled. "He isn't dead." Loki was forgotten for a moment as Freyr directed his attention towards the trembling girl.

Haylie held up her hands. "No I didn't, he's dead. He has to be. No one could survive a fall like that. Not unless you're the Hulk or something."

"Silence!" Freyr held his sword in Haylie's direction. "You mortals should be punished for putting your noses into matters like these."

"No, wait, I didn't do anything," Haylie pleaded. She tried to run, but Freyr waved his hand and her feet froze to the ground.

Loki had woken up and tackled Freyr to the ground. His sword flew out of his hand and under the tires of a passing truck.

Haylie watched the two men fight, frozen in place, with fear and anxiety. She had wondered why no cars had stopped yet, but then came to realize that they were better off that way. These people were dangerous. Haylie was frightened that the supposedly dead person had gotten up, but was partially glad.

"Loki, your betrayal will soon be the death of you. Hopefully, that soon will be in the near future." Freyr grabbed onto Loki's long hair and pulled his head back. He pointed his forefinger at Loki's head, the finger with the ring.

"I've had just enough of your insolence," Loki snarled. He snatched Freyr's hand and bit his teeth into it. While Freyr roared with pain, Loki snatched his finger and tried to pry the ring off. "Personally, I hope you get stranded on Earth so you can see what it is like."

Helpless, Haylie noticed that there were noises in the air. She looked up in amazement at the dozens of helicopters in the sky. At first, she wondered if they could see her. She starting breathing heavily when she realized that they were coming closer.

Loki threw Freyr off of him. The two gods ceased wrestling when they realized that the helicopters were closing in around them. Since Freyr still had his powers, he vanished with a look of loathing on his face.

Once Haylie's feet were free, she dashed over to the man who lay on the side of the road in pain. There was no doubt she was scared but he had technically saved her life. Haylie was still kind of grateful.

The helicopters landed quickly and agents dressed in black clothing stepped out. "Here, put this on, quick," Loki hushed at Haylie. He sneakily dropped the ring into Haylie's palm. "Don't let go of it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 2 Adjusting**

"You're under arrest Loki, under the orders of S.H.I.E.L.D." Several agents directed their guns at the god of mischief. The injured Loki just smiled lightly at the agents as they pulled him to his feet.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Haylie wondered out loud. Someone approached her as she watched Loki get taken away. Loki had been cuffed and blindfolded without a struggle. It was amazing how quickly the secret service had discovered the object that had fallen out of the sky.

A woman with a clipboard approached her and held up a badge. "Hello, Miss? Agent Maria Hill. Can you tell me what your name is, please?"

"My name is Haylie Park." She watched with anticipation as Agent Hill went through her files. Haylie noticed that she didn't write her name down; she simply glanced at a page and read off of it.

"Haylie, I'm afraid you need to come with us. You're not in trouble, don't worry." Agent Hill handed her a water bottle as a sincere gesture. "We need to bring you to New York City as part of our investigation. All accommodations will be arranged for you."

Puzzled, Haylie pulled back a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why is it important that I leave here with you right here, right now?"

"Because if you don't, the C.I.A. or other agency will come by and take you by force. It would be better if you leave with us voluntarily, to avoid creating a mess."

"Is there a reason why they would be interested in me?" Haylie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "It's that Loki fellow who dropped out of the sky… and LIVED for goodness sake. In addition," Haylie added with an afterthought, "I've heard of the C.I.A. before, but not S.H.I.E.L.D. Don't you think I would trust a government agency over you guys?"

Agent Hill took a small breath in and looked Haylie in the eye, but not unkindly. "Really? You trust a government agency to deal with strange, magical occurrences such as this? You look like a smart girl." Hill gestured towards the helicopter that had just taken off with Loki.

"Good point." Haylie frowned.

"I don't mean to sound biased or unpatriotic. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not a secret facility to the government, but we are a private sector. They've put their trust in us."

"Wait a second. I'm late for my exam and my car's wrecked. Can't this wait until after 5PM today?"

"I'm sorry but I've received orders from Mr. Nick Fury. We need to listen to him."

After some debate, Haylie finally got inside one of the helicopters. Biting her tongue, she looked out the window at her car. There were people surrounding it now, trying to get it right-sided. Haylie felt despair, wondering how much it was going to cost to fix the damages. Looking down at her lap, Haylie stared at the ring that was on her forefinger. She was a little hesitant about it and wondered if she should give it up to the S.H.I.E.L.D agents. She was unsure of what they did and who they supported.

"Where are we heading?"

"First, we're going to the airport. Then, to headquarters, in New York." The doors shut and the rotors began to move faster.

"What about my passport? I'm leaving a country, aren't I?"

"We have connections within the Canadian government as well."

* * *

"Thor, Loki's been found."

The Asgardian god looked up quickly. His blues eyes were wide and mixed with an expression of shock and despair. "What? My brother cannot be here. He is under house arrest back home and is guarded at all times."

Natasha Romanoff passed pictures around the table. "Well he was spotted and arrested in the southern parts of Canada. This is the place where they found him. Somehow, he managed to get to Earth." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Any idea how he managed it?" Thor shook his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"He looks beaten up pretty bad," Clint Barton noted. "I wonder who did that to him… I want to meet and thank him."

The team sat around a large oval table in a separate room at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. It was a base located underneath New York City. After their other facility was destroyed, they had worked to expand this one. This was the place where most of the team stayed in overnight between assignments. It was well past midnight, but the group had been called for an emergency meeting. Nick Fury hadn't shown up yet.

"Well, there shouldn't be any worries!" Tony Stark determined. "He's already captured and weak enough as it is. Looks like he was just beaten up by a group of school bullies."

Bruce Banner looked at the reports that Agent Maria Hill had sent in. "It doesn't look like he's caused any harm." He fixed his glasses as he read. "What is this about a girl with him?" Bruce was the only one who appeared calm at the news of Loki's return.

"Fury didn't tell me any other details," Natasha told them. "Agent Hill and Miss Park should be here in less than an hour. We'll find out then."

An awkward silence filled the room once they ran out of things to discuss. Clearing his throat, Tony turned towards the nearest person, Steve Rogers. "So, have you found your own place yet? Get used to the technology of the twenty-first century? For example, you finally got a cellphone and all that?" Tony batted innocent eyelashes when Steve sent him a hard look. "Just making conversation."

Steve had been looking at apartments in New York for the past couple of weeks. Although he was content working for S.H.I.E.L.D, he didn't want to stay at their headquarters anymore. The room that they let him stay in was cozy enough, but it was too heavily planned to stay somewhere nearby in downtown New York. "No, I haven't yet. It's a little more difficult than I had thought."

"Hey pal, why don't we room together?" Bruce spoke softly. "I was considering finding a place downtown New York too, until I find a permanent place to settle at."

"Here's an idea! How come everybody comes over and stays at my place? How about that?" Tony suggested eagerly. "Even you, Miss Romanoff, if you're up for it."

"What will your girlfriend say to that?" Natasha replied wryly.

"Actually, I've got a bit of news. The media doesn't know yet, but it's no big deal if it got leaked." Tony's eyes flashed with excitement. "We're getting married. I mean Pepper and I are. Hopefully soon and to each other."

"Congratulations," everyone chorused with delight. Everybody broke out into applause, Thor being the loudest. The mood in the room brightened considerably. "Mr. Stark, you've finally accomplished it," Clint told him. "The greatest achievement one can earn."

"What's that, Mr. Barton?"

"Having a family."

Tony grinned at his teammates. "Well, I consider all of you family. Kind of. More like distant relatives, the kind that I only visit once a year. Or whenever there's some villain out there trying to kill people."

Their earpieces buzzed and announced the arrival of Loki. With the warm fuzzy moment over, they all got up and rushed out of the room.

* * *

"Hello brother."

"Thor."

Their curt greetings did not go unnoticed by everyone else. Thor crossed his arms as he stared down his brother inside the glass cage. Tony, Steve, Clint, Bruce, and Natasha stood at the glass window with Nick Fury. Soundlessly, Thor had entered the sealed compartment under careful supervision. Loki's wounds had healed quickly, but they were visible. An uneven stance indicated that his right leg was hurt. He also had a cut on his lower lip. Other than that, Loki looked positively cheerful.

"We've upgraded the cage," Fury informed Loki, tapping onto the glass with his knuckles. "And improved the security in this area."

Loki chuckled. "How… cute." His dark eyes scoured the area, examining each person as they passed by them. "A couple of traps in the area as well as alarms. You even have a fake hallway that simply leads back here. Impressive."

Shaking his head, Thor glanced down at his feet. "He's just toying with us. Loki could have escaped by now if he wanted to."

"I don't think he has that much power," Steve commented. The captain had a hard gaze on the god. "Not as much as before."

Hearing this, Thor's head snapped up. He reached out a hand and touched his brother on the shoulder. "Father removed some of your powers."

Everyone leaned in closer to hear more of this conversation. Loki simply let out a breath of air and grinned. "Well, he left me enough to get out of this place with no problems. The problem is, he did not leave me enough to do any real damage while I'm on Earth. Pity."

"Speaking of which, how did you get to Earth?" Thor demanded.

"Ah, remember that stone you created?"

"Yes…?"

"I borrowed it."

Thor's eyes flashed. "What?"

"Oh no, the big guy's angry. Let's give him some space, people." Tony and the others backed up a little. "Easy now," he warned. He had a feeling that Thor could do a lot of damage if threatened by Loki.

"That stone was meant for a oneway trip only. It was my only ticket back to Asgard." Thor gritted his teeth and clenched his fist over Mjolnir.

"Then how did oh so wise brother not notice it was missing until now?"

After a long moment of silence, Thor hastily tried to calm down. Fury was silently urging him to continue. "Why did you use it? Why did you come to Earth knowing that you barely have any powers?"

Loki rolled his eyes exasperatedly and sighed. "I had no choice. It was either stay there and get killed or come here. I'm not exactly thrilled about it either."

"Kill by whom?" Fury inquired.

They were interrupted by Agent Hill. "Sir, Miss Park is no longer in her room. Shall we send out to look for her?"

"I'll go," Tony offered. "Gives me some time to stretch out my legs."

"I will follow him and make sure he doesn't stop for a shot or something," Bruce told the others.

Thor knew that Loki couldn't leave while he was present. As soon as he was physically ready, Loki would disappear. He had to squeeze answers out of him while he could.

"Tell me how you plan on returning to Asgard."

The younger god wearily cocked his head to the side and let out a small laugh. "I don't have a plan. Not at the moment," he replied briskly.

A few more minutes with Loki proved to be useless. Eventually, they left him with several guards in the area, and returned to the meeting room with tired faces. Thor told them a little more background of his home while time passed. They planned to dismiss themselves once Loki drifted to sleep. At this point, however, the Avengers wondered if they would get any time to sleep at all.

"Tell us a little more of that girl," Natasha spoke up. "Why is she important, and how is she related to Loki? Is she a threat?"

"As of now, Haylie Park's only connection to Loki is through an accident today, when he nearly crashed into her car on the highway." Fury took off his gloves and glanced down at the desktop. "She may or may not be a threat. However, other people think differently."

"How much harm can she bring? She's only nineteen, right?" Clint asked, chuckling.

Smirking, Natasha turned her head to face Clint. "I was a spy working for the Russian government when I was nineteen."

"Hopefully by tomorrow, we'll have straightened things out," Steve commented. "But I'd like to know now rather than later; why is Haylie Park a part of our assignment?"

"That is because," Fury replied, giving each person in the room a pointed look, "you all need to keep an eye on her. Keep her safe, and/or keep her from others. We will meet up again tomorrow at noon to discuss these matters. Dismissed."

While they were leaving, Clint nudged Natasha. "I'm not really up for a baby-sitting job," he whispered. "Personally, I think it's better if it's left up to you."

* * *

"Why do I feel like I'm being held under arrest?" Haylie demanded.

"You are not under arrest," a random agent told her. She had forgotten his name. "We basically need to ask you several questions, run some tests, and determine whether or not you came with Loki."

"I did not," Haylie briskly said, her patience wearing thin. She normally couldn't speak to older adults very well; Haylie was extremely shy. However, she was tired and annoyed from the trip they made her go through that afternoon. She was upset that she had missed her exam, frenzied about her car, and also worried about her grandmother's health. Not to mention that the S.H.I.E.L.D agents had taken some of her hair and blood sample to test on. This was simply not Haylie's day. "I feel like I'm in captivity."

Haylie was led to a private room. It had a bed, small kitchen, and a washroom. It was small but quite cozy. There was even a fireplace in the corner. "Just rest here for the moment. Nick Fury will be here to discuss matters with you soon."

"Good, because I'd like to put in a few words with him," Haylie retorted.

When the agents left the room, Haylie sat down and rubbed her arms. She was sore from the uncomfortable helicopter ride. The seats killed her back. Haylie stared down at her feet and marvelled at how they got stuck earlier that day. Losing control of her feet made her feel weak. Unconsciously, she made a fist.

With nothing else better to do, Haylie eventually decided to search the fridge. She was hungry, but it felt awkward to simply take out a dish of casserole and eat in front of a camera.

"Damnit, there's no window out here. I'm gonna become claustrophobic."

After she got extremely bored, she decided to go on an adventure. Haylie took a deep breath and immediately made her way to the door. She stopped herself from opening the door when she saw there was a camera at the corner of the room moving with her. Making a face, Haylie put her hand on the doorknob despite being watched. Fortunately, it wasn't locked, which made Haylie feel like she wasn't some guinea pig trapped in box. However, she was still at a loss on what to do.

"Look." She pointed a finger at the camera. "I'm not trying to escape or cause trouble. I just want to escape this damn room for a few minutes, okay? Maybe even look for a phone, since there ain't one in here. I've been here for… oh look forty minutes already. I'll be back soon."

Going out into the hall, Haylie tried to pull her act together and make it look like she belonged. With her shoulders straight and her head held up straight, Haylie walked past a group of agents without causing too much eyebrow raising. Everyone was dressed in dark clothing while she wore sweatpants and a brown tank top. Haylie was aware that she stuck out, but figured that confidence was the key.

"Hey, where's the nearest phone I could use?" she asked an orderly who had walked from a ward.

"Oh my, your face… does it hurt?" Without giving Haylie time to react, the grey-haired woman ushered her into a blinding white room. She put a hand to Haylie's cheek and started to inspect her. "You have a big ugly bruise on that pretty face of yours. Don't worry, I shall fix that." She rushed over to a first aid kit.

With surprise, Haylie turned towards a mirror. Sure enough, there was a large green bruise spread across her forehead. "People already checked me over today, but that wasn't there before." She patted her head gently but winced when she touched it.

"It was probably there a long time ago, but you didn't notice it. Here you go, sweetie." The nurse came back with ointment and an icepack. She gently used a cotton swab on Haylie's forehead. "It's not serious, but wounds on the face aren't pretty."

"Thank you so much," Haylie told her, smiling. "I hope you weren't busy. Um… I was wondering if you can tell me more about S.H.I.E.L.D?"

The nurse took off her gloves and rubbed sanitizer across her palms. "I don't know if I should. There aren't a lot of things I'm aware of, anyways."

"Well, what do you know?" Haylie eagerly pressed. "What have they done in the past that people already know about?"

Pursing her lips, the nurse let out a deep breath. "Ahh gee, I do not know where to start. I've been working here for decades now."

After much deliberation, the old lady mentioned a couple of topics to Haylie. She spoke of how the agency ran groups of spies, superheroes, and soldiers. There were labs all across the country that performed scientific experiments under S.H.I.E.L.D, as well as facilities that provided protection for people. "I don't think there are any facilities in Canada, but they've been sending a lot of people there lately."

"Like agents?"

"Well yes, but they also need to send doctors and nurses with them. We usually move in a group together."

They talked for several minutes. The nurse had warmed up to her quickly, and Haylie soon had an idea of what the agency was like. "Wow, Tony Stark? Captain America? THOR?" Haylie gasped and shook her head in disbelief. "Those Avengers that I saw on the news one day? I didn't think they'd actually… I thought they were played out. In other words… I thought there were fake, pawns of the media."

"We weren't a big of a deal in Canada? I'm kind of disappointed in that." There were a couple of men at the door whom Haylie only faintly recognized.

"Well, nothing big has ever happened in Canada that involves… you guys." Haylie stood and quietly thanked the nurse. "It doesn't mean that the news didn't reach and impact us straight away."

"Just keep the icepack on that for an hour or two, and the swelling will go down." The nurse left Haylie in the presence of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.

Leaving the ward, Haylie wondered how many people had seen that day.

"Did Loki do that to you?" Bruce inquired before they had a chance to properly introduce themselves.

"Well… no he didn't. Actually, he saved my life." Tony and Bruce snapped their heads to give each other a look. "What is it?" Haylie's frown only deepened.

"Nothing to worry about! The names Tony Stark, pleasure to meet you, Miss." Tony quickly took Haylie's hand and shook it firmly.

"Bruce Banner."

Haylie's eyes sparked. "Oh… Iron Man… and the Incredible Hulk. Um, call me Haylie, please."

"So she does know who we are!" Tony pumped a fist in the air. "We aren't dealing with an airhead here."

"Anyways… Haylie, Nick Fury spoke with us. He figures it is too late in the evening to talk right now, so maybe we can pick things up in the morning?" They started to lead her back to room 22-B.

"Will you answer all of my questions and quit being manipulative of my every move? And by 'you', I mean the generic term. I'll cooperate and won't venture off anymore if I get straight answers."

Cocking his head to the side, Bruce nodded. "It's a deal."

"Finally somebody who's sensible!" Haylie threw her hands up in the air as she walked. "Thanks for showing me back to my room. Much appreciated. Can you get someone to maybe please draw me a map in the morning?" She smiled wearily and yawned. "Goodnight."

Amused at Tony's expression, Bruce gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, you know you are nowhere close to being sensible about anything really." At this remark, the older man pouted. "Since when does the infamous Iron Man pout?"

"I do not pout. And I am more than just 'infamous'." Tony fixed his collar and huffed. Walking down the hallways together, Tony put an arm over Bruce's shoulder. "So how are you adjusting, Dr. Banner?"

"Things are alright. I could do without the formalities all the time though."

"So I was kind of serious about earlier."

"About what?"

"You coming to stay over with me at the Stark Tower. Until, you know, you find your own place."

"I'm flattered for the offer, but what about Steve?"

"I'll get him to come too! The more the merrier. Hey, what do you say?" Tony gave him a look. "This is going to be fun for us, since there's no real threat at the moment. Loki certainly isn't a danger to anybody. Shall we go back to the others?"

"If it's all fine with you, I'm going to take a nap in the assembly room. It's the closest thing to a bed in my eyes, and my room is too far away." Bruce's body ached. He had been up all day doing errands and research.

"Mind if I join you?" Bruce gave Tony an odd look. "I'm just kidding, geez, I'm engaged now." He held his head high with pride.

"Wouldn't be surprised if Pepper would rather go sleep on hard wooden chairs from time to time," Bruce muttered as he walked off in one direction.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that!" Tony called out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 3 Expectations**

As predicted, when Thor returned to HQ with Tony Stark the next morning, he found the entire company in panic over Loki's vanishing. There were people running and tripping on the staircases, papers flying, and alarms sounding. Without batting so much as an eyelash, he poured himself a cup of coffee in the lounge. He was dressed in a regular t-shirt and jeans, but he stood apart from the other mortals in the room.

"Somebody seems awfully happy today," Tony remarked. "Despite your brother's reappearance."

"After much speculation, I have come to realize that Loki is not here to cause trouble."

"What is your basis on that?" Steve inquired, passing the duo to pour himself coffee as well. "I trust him to not be trusted."

"I thought that alcohol and coffee doesn't affect you, physically?" Tony crossed his arms. "Have you been lying to us? Are you simply really skilled at holding your liquor?"

"Loki did not escape because he's up to schemes; he left simply because he does not like being contained." Thor took a sip of coffee. "Back in Asgard, he was strangely obedient. Loki did not argue or put up a fight. The reason for this is because of my father and all of the guards. Here, nobody can hold him for long, because they don't hold authority over him. Nevertheless, Loki will be back."

"As long as he takes his time," Tony muttered darkly.

The door opened and two people walked in. Haylie trailed behind a young agent named James Avery who was showing her around. He was easy on the eyes, talkative, and extremely outgoing. Because of this, Haylie didn't take notice to the Avengers who were in the room. She fiddled with her fingers behind her back.

"Fury likes direct eye contact when conversing with people. It shows that they're confident, unafraid to back down, and social," James said, giving Haylie a warm smile. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Haylie, this is Captain America, Thor, and-"

"Mr. Stark. Good morning." Haylie woke up only ten minutes prior, so she still had a puffy face and droopy eyelids. Nonetheless, she looked and felt upbeat, despite her temper and aggravation from the previous night.

"On your way to talk to Fury? You look a little flushed for some reason."

It was true. Haylie's cheeks were already red from her encounter with James. The butterflies in her stomach didn't help. Haylie was not good with talking to authority figures. "I feel like I'm in trouble and heading towards the principal's office back in school again."

"Well… Nick Fury does bite, so be careful. Be sure to look at his eye and not his eyepatch. And don't lean on something if you're standing and talking; he hates it when I do that. He may yell at you for no reason, but he's nice. On your way now, Mr. Avery, Miss Park."

"Thanks for scaring her, Mr. Stark," James replied dryly as he led Haylie out.

Tony held up his hands. "Just trying to be honest and helpful here. That girl has stars in her eyes; I don't blame her, that kid has nice arms. I don't suppose we're allowed to be there for Fury's private meeting?"

"It would be wrong to intrude or spy," Thor stated.

"We have another task, anyways." Clint showed up with full-body armour. "Banner's sitting out for this, Romanoff's in charge. Thor, I think Agent Hill's going to need your help with Loki. Stark, you might want to leave this one alone as well. It requires spy-tactics over full frontal attacks. You would draw too much attention in your Iron Man suit."

"I'm going." Tony put on his sunglasses and left the room to prepare.

"Steve?" Clint gave his teammates a pressing look. "Up for it?"

"Where do we head off to?" Steve asked.

"Seattle."

An hour later, the group assembled on a plane eating a plate of sushi. Tony was battling his desire to take a nap while Natasha briefed her teammates on the mission.

"The International Suderberg Secret Service, I.S.S.S., operates closely with S.H.I.E.L.D and the government. They've been given orders by the government to let these prisoners go, who were captured after an explosion at a nuclear power plant occurred in Indiana. No evidence has been provided towards these people and the explosion; we've found that another team may be behind this. I.S.S.S. has kept seven people inside for some other motive and refuses to let them go. They have been stalling for the past three months, so we have to bust them out. They cannot know that S.H.I.E.L.D. is involved.

"Graham Suderberg and his wife Susan hold major stocks within large companies in Seattle and they are part of the chair board for one of those companies. A press conference for a new product was called; therefore they must be present at the Bellevue Club Hotel at 3PM. Normally, they should have a level 5 security travel with them. Part of our job is to trigger and provoke their security team to at least a level 3 at the hotel. Once the gates at the I.S.S.S. base are a little less secure, we're in and out in fifteen minutes. Stark, you stay here and sleep. Steve, go with Agent Avery to the back entrance…"

When Tony finally woke up, he saw that the plane was empty. Grabbing his bag and a donut, he followed the others to the hotel. Tony was twenty minutes behind.

"Thanks for leaving me," he said stiffly to Natasha over his earpiece. "A simple shake on the shoulder would have done it."

"You looked really peaceful back there. I thought I specifically told you to stay in and sleep for your mission."

"I can do without your sarcasm, Miss Romanoff."

Without waiting for direct orders, Tony had changed into a regular business suit and his usual shades. "My company has some affairs within the Bellevue Club Hotel. My pal should be there as a representative. It won't be too weird I showed up."

"Just do not change into your Iron Man gear," Natasha ordered. "The rest of us have put on disguises. You need to be around the security room and make sure Barton isn't seen."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."

There were a couple of random agents present. Tony knew he wouldn't recognize them at the hotel anyways. They were going to raise alarm in a couple of minutes in order to attract more of Suderberg's guards.

Unconsciously, Tony gravitated towards the bar and order a drink. Natasha and Clint hadn't given him any signals yet, or any indication that things were according or not according to plan. This mission was too slow for him.

He ended up getting a small surprise at the bar counter, about twenty feet away.

"I see the head of their security team," Tony muttered under his breath. "Judging by his appearance, he's had at least three beers within the past hour."

"Keep your distance, Stark."

Although he was drinking on the job, Tony couldn't judge, since he was also drinking on the job. The guard was sober, but didn't appear interested in Tony's presence. The wealthy Stark enterprise CEO ordered several shots for the guard. Then, taking a serious risk, Tony edged closer to the man. "Yes sir," he spoke through a cellphone, "the hotel is clear."

Curious, Tony fiddled with his earpiece and successfully tapped into the conversation. "Good," a new gruff voice said, "After the mishap with S.H.I.E.L.D yesterday, we've got one foot forward. This certainly redeems the kid. He will have to wear turtleneck sweaters for the next little while though; I hope they didn't whip him too hard." The voice laughed sardonically.

Tony's eyes darkened and he had to take a swig of beer to keep his expression from betraying him.

"Mr. Suderberg, have a good afternoon. And wish Mrs. Suderberg a good day for me at the Suderberg Resort."

"I would leave soon if I were you. Don't want to be mixed up as one of S.H.I.E.L.D. in about ten minutes when the government officials walk in."

Tony abruptly got up to his feet. He slammed a hundred dollar bill on the counter and left the bar without the guard noticing. "Miss Romanoff, call the others off. There is no meeting, no Suderberg, and no security team here. We've been compromised."

"Stark, I thought I told you to go to the hotel security room."

"They were on to us. I.S.S.S. base has _full security_ at the moment, so call it off," Tony emphasized. He wasn't worried about Steve getting hurt, since he could handle himself, but there were other agents with him. "Additionally, the hotel needs to be cleared."

"Stark," Steve voiced was broken through the static in the radio, "we need to get those captured out. They were forced to break into the Canadian government records. That's why they they're needed."

"Look at their front gates. If there aren't people at the gates, then that's because they're expecting you to come in and preparing for an attack. We don't know how many people there are." Tony stopped at the ballroom where the supposed meeting was taking place. It was empty. There were no windows. Tony found that odd, since Agent Avery had outlined the hotel for them, which included windows so that Clint could spy on Suderberg. "I don't know why they need those people, but if you go in, it'll be a suicide mission. You'll be outnumbered," Stark told him. "And can anybody hear me? People in the hotel are in danger. I think I.S.S.S. plans on putting S.H.I.E.L.D. in a bad light. And where's Barton? He's not responding."

"Clint?" Natasha could be heard typing frantically. "I'll search him up on the radar. He should be on the top floor."

Successfully, Tony maintained his dignity and composure as he made a mad dash towards the elevator. He reknotted his tie as he walked into the elevator. A million thoughts raced through his mind. However, he froze for a second when the head security guard rushed into the elevator with him. Clearing his throat, Tony tried not to make eye contact as he fixed his purple tie.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?"

"Er, why yes. The wind messed up my hair, which is a delight." Tony peered at the guard from the corner of his eye.

An awkward silence filled the elevator. Tony noticed that the guard hadn't pressed a floor.

"You know, you're not going to find Barton up there." The guard laughed while Tony's entire body grew stiff. "He's been taken care of."

"Why would I care for that?" Tony pretended.

In an instant, the guard had ripped of Tony's earpiece and smashed it to bits. "Mr. Stark, I don't care much for posers." He held up a gun with a smirk on his face.

"How did you find out so quickly?" Tony glared at the guard, unable to control his expressions. "That was remarkably fast." He took a step back. In the back of his mind, he was thinking there was a double agent working for them. "What do you plan on doing to the place?"

"Just a mild explosive, nothing serious."

"And where do you plan on activating said explosive?"

"You are way too inquisitive, Mr. Stark." The guard strode over and pointed the gun at his temple. "That's not a safe quality to have." He glanced down at Tony's hands. One of them was held up, while the other was edging towards his jacket. "What kind of weapon do you have in there?"

"I wouldn't reach into my jacket if I were you," Tony warned enthusiastically.

The guard ignored him. He was in for a shock, literally, and crumpled to the floor. Shaking, the gun slipped out of his hands.

Tony took the opportunity and snatched up the gun. "Taser tie. Got it as a gift from my buddy Rhodey." He fixed his tie once more with a triumphant smile. Effortlessly, he flipped the guard onto his back and pointed the gun at his head. The tables had turned. "You have only one chance."

"To do what?" the guard grunted.

"Tell me where Barton is, and why you have seven innocent people holed up at the I.S.S.S. base."

When he didn't answer, Tony grabbed his collar and started to choke him. The guard turned red and started coughing. "Okay, fine!" he shouted.

"Oh my gosh!" a couple of ladies screamed. The elevator door had opened. Tony gave them a bright smile.

"Sorry, Miss, but you shall have to catch another." Tony pushed a button and the doors closed. "Continue."

"Barton's on the ninth floor, room 901."

Tony pulled the guard up and pushed him out of the elevator in front. As Tony searched for Barton, he concluded that the guard truthfully did not know what motive Suderberg had for imprisoning the seven people. A bead of sweat fell from Tony's face, and he had to take off his jacket. The arc reactor in his chest glowed brightly. He tapped on it for good luck. With swift motion from his hand, the guard was unconscious. He dumped the guard's body in a closet and locked it from the outside, hoping to recapture and hold him for questioning later. Then, Tony barged into room 901 wielding a gun.

"Barton?" he called out.

The room was dark, and the curtains were closed. Tony reached out to flip on the light switch, but a sharp yell stopped him. "Don't!" a raspy voice called out.

"Clint, where are you man?"

"Don't turn on the lights, or you'll blow the lid off this place," a weak voice mustered out. "I'm on the ground next to the bed, out of your plain of sight."

Tony rushed over to find the archer bleeding and his wrists tied behind his back. Despite that, he had a smile on his lips. "Hey, weren't you guys giving me a hard time for napping on the job?"

Rolling his eyes, Clint sighed good-naturedly. "Just get me up."

Afterwards, Tony picked up Clint's fallen radio a few feet away and buzzed in. "I found Barton. Rogers, where are you at?"

"We aborted the mission," Steve told him, a tone of worry etched in his voice. "Like you warned us to. Where were you before?"

"Doesn't matter. The bomb and switch are both in room 901. Jarvis has stopped all remote control access to the switch in the hotel, but they'll have to manually come and dismantle it. The police can take care of that; we have to disappear. They tried to make it look like we planned on blowing up the hotel. Rogers, send the others back to Natasha, but meet me at the bridge in fifteen minutes."

Clint stared at Tony. "You're still planning on going in? It's too dangerous, plus we have been compromised."

"They already know S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to break in, under the government's approval, so I don't see why we shouldn't break in." Tony helped Clint to his feet and walk out of the room. They headed to the rooftop for a waiting helicopter. "I am interested in those seven people. Fury normally would have rejected an assignment like this; there has to be a reason why he's interested in those people. They're important."

"As long as you know what you're doing and have a plan," Clint told him. "What am I saying… you don't have a plan. The two of you are going to march in there, blow stuff up, and leave without so much as a scratch."

Tony Stark grinned. "That's _the_ plan."

As expected, later that night, everyone boarded the plane with seven additional passengers. Tony took off his suit, which quickly rolled up into a briefcase. He sat down in his seat and ordered a drink before greeting the others.

"I thought Natasha was in charge of this mission," Steve commented.

"Me too," Natasha added, giving Tony a stare. "However, I am impressed by the both of your teamwork. You managed to recover Dr. Lee and his associates safely, and before I.S.S.S. decided to get rid of them."

"Have you forgotten that I saved the Bellevue Club Hotel?" Tony proudly held up his glass. "Here's to some damn good luck."

"Agent Avery, I want you to keep a track of all the names of every agent involved in this mission," Natasha told the young man in his middle twenties. "Fury will want a background check and an interview with everybody, including you and I."

"Yes, ma'am," Avery said dutifully, nodding his head. He walked to the other side of the plane, where the other agents gathered. Tony sat back and eyed Avery warily from behind his sunglasses.

"I don't trust that kid," Tony said to Steve a few hours later as the plane neared New York. He sat next to Captain America and leaned in closely.

The captain was searching up news and information on a laptop for hours. He looked up at Tony with a raised eyebrow. "Who? Avery?" he asked, innocently looking around to inspect the brown haired agent. "He's around my age, so maybe he's too new to things?"

"Pardon me, but aren't you around ninety years old?" Tony clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure he hasn't done anything suspicious?"

"He acts odd," Steve whispered to the older man, lowering his head. "I caught him once or twice wandering off briefly, saying he's off to check on something."

"I think he's our spy," Tony determined, crossing his arms. It was his gut instinct. "We need to watch him closely."

"If he is in fact a double agent, he'll be up to something because of the failed reversal," Steve commented.

The duo watched discreetly while James Avery discussed with Dr. Lee, who had a bandaged wrist and an old black eye. Avery looked fresh, uninjured, and wore a thick leather jacket over a turtleneck shirt. At one point, Avery looked up and caught the two staring at him. Tony and Steve didn't look away, but stared right back. A moment later, Avery excused himself and walked into the other room.

"Everyone else is sweating from the heat," Tony muttered to himself. "He's the only one with a jacket."

"As if he's hiding something, or as if he's preparing to leave."

Tony's mind was racing. "Both. He's hiding his scars and trying to get off this plane."

"Shall we follow him?"

They found Avery exiting the pilot's cabin with a backpack. "Hello, sirs," he greeted them, aware that they were giving him deadly stares.

"What's in the bag?" Tony inquired, trying to sound nice.

"Ah, those are some supplies for the rescued patients." Avery appeared nervous. "If you excuse me…"

Steve grabbed Avery's wrist and caused him to drop the bag. Picking it up, Tony realized it was a cleverly disguised parachute. "Where were you thinking of going?"

"Oh I must have picked up the wrong bag. That chute's for an emergency."

"Such as your real boss calling for you because you failed your mission?" Tony badgered. "Right?"

Avery's eyes flashed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit!" Tony shouted. By now, they had caught the attention of everyone else. "You clearly rigged this entire mission. For instance, you showed Barton the wrong map of the hotel conference room. I doubt it's an error because of your noob status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"I will not stand here and have accusations thrown at me," Avery spat, backing away from the two Avengers. He snatched up his backpack. "Now if you excuse me…"

Avery made a move as if to go back to his seat, but all of a sudden he shot past Tony and Steve. He approached Dr. Lee with a knife. Dr. Lee held up his hands in panic, allowing Avery to take a hold of his briefcase. Knowing very well that Natasha and Clint were right behind him, Avery threw a knife over his shoulder and delivered a kick.

Natasha dodged the knife and blocked his kick with her own. In sync with her actions, Clint threw a punch and kicked the briefcase out of Avery's hands. The young agent fell to the ground but got up in a flash with a gun.

"Let go of Dr. Lee," Natasha told him, a gun also held out.

"You better listen to her, kid," Tony shouted, staying behind the doorway. "Clint, aim for his back if you're hitting him. He's hurt there."

"The bomb in the hotel was a decoy," Avery said, panting heavily. "The real one is set up in the luggage compartment. One step out of place, and we're all goners." From his pocket, Avery revealed a switch.

"What do you want?" Clint asked.

"Give me the briefcase."

Tucking the case under his arm with a gun still directed at Dr. Lee's head, Avery edged closer to the plane's emergency exit. "It was a pleasure doing assignments with you, really. But I'm afraid this is goodbye," he told them as he kicked the door open. "Farewell, Miss Romanoff." He blew her a kiss and jumped.

"Get the parachutes!" Clint roared as the rest of the plane went into chaos.

"Stark, try to catch him," Steve shouted as he pushed past the crowd of panicked people. "I'll get everybody off the plane, but try to get the remote."

"Gotcha."

A moment later, Iron Man was hurling towards the Earth after the double agent.

"I think it's really rude that you left without saying goodbye to me." As Tony neared the spy, his suit got drenched with rain water as they fell into a cloud. He couldn't see from his mask. When the sky was finally clear, there wasn't a parachute in sight.

Swearing under his breath, Tony was about to slow down and go back up when he hit something invisible. "Oh shit." Iron Man's suit had fallen and embedded itself on an invisible moving aircraft. Getting up, he immediately flew in the other direction as they began shooting at him. "Not today… I will get you Avery, but not today…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 4 Holding Back**

When the news that there was a double agent working at S.H.I.E.L.D. broke out, Bruce Banner couldn't believe that nobody had suspected or seen it coming. The spy must have been extremely crafted, he figured. He calmly left his lab to greet his teammates who returned from their mission with sore bodies, wind-streaked hair, and dirty clothes. One look at the returning group and he breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone was accounted for, including the seven saved people. As a result, the atmosphere in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was mixed with different emotions that day.

"Care for some water?" he offered Tony and Clint, who had swollen expressions. He sat next to them on a set of stairs and looked at a giant bulletin board before them. There was nothing important on the board, but he pretended to read the fliers to fill in the silence.

"All the records of James Avery were false. That may not even be his real name," Clint informed them, rubbing his temples with closed eyes. "We have no family history, birthdate, DNA sample, or even a phone number. In turn, he got to all of our backgrounds, has files on our weaknesses, strengths, people we know, etc."

"He also knows our next couple of moves," Tony commented darkly.

Nodding his head in understanding, Bruce frowned. Both men were too lost in their thoughts and frustrations to be in the mood for conversation. He could empathize though; everybody around him already knew his personal weakness.

Because they were sitting on the steps, it was no surprise that Haylie nearly tripped over them while coming down the stairs. She caught herself in time and let out a half-hearted laugh. "Hey, how are you doing?" she asked casually, sipping onto a box of juice. Haylie had only briefly heard about the news. She had been busy reflecting over her talk with Nick Fury earlier that day.

"I'm going to see Pepper, at the Stark Tower," Tony declared, getting up. He marched up the stairs past Haylie without a glance. Haylie hid her quizzical expression and smiled at the two men.

"Excuse his rudeness, he's just a little cranky," Bruce apologized.

"Oh no, I don't mind at all. It's Avery's fault."

"But we all blame ourselves for being blind," Clint muttered, also standing. "I think I'm long overdue for the nurse's station. Better go before Romanoff bites off my head." He pointed to a major cut on his arm, bowed his head, and walked down the stairs.

With everyone else gone, Bruce stood up to properly greet Haylie.

"Avery…" A lightbulb inside of Haylie's head lit up. "You know, James actually gave me his number before he left."

"Really? We could use that." Bruce's eyes widened with surprise. "Were the two of you flirting?"

At this comment, Haylie flushed and glanced away. "He was close to my age… and we both liked art…" she defended. She was also surprised that James had given her a number. She wasn't the most attractive girl in a crowd or had a great personality to make up for it. Haylie considered herself too average to be noticed. This was most likely why nobody except Bruce Banner and Nick Fury had given her the time of day while she was at S.H.I.E.L.D. Clearing her throat, she straightened up. "He gave it to me after I told him I didn't have a cell phone. Could we track it down and see where the number leads to?"

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. "Let's go together; there's no need to inform the others and raise their hopes in this case. If it's a real number, then we can get somewhere and tell them. Come with me then."

Together, they walked to an empty computer room that Bruce often worked in. Haylie had grown accustomed to this particular wing, since her room was nearby and she constantly explored the area. "That is very high-tech," she commented when they entered the room. She was impressed.

"That's where money from the government goes," Bruce replied as he entered the data into the screen. Haylie stared in awe while he worked around the screens and unfamiliar keyboard buttons. After a few clicks and scrolls, a bar appeared, indicating a waiting period.

Bruce decided to pass the time with conversation. "So what has Fury gotten you to do? You're still at HQ for some reason."

Haylie examined the look on the doctor's face, wondering if he was a trustworthy. As a person, she knew he was good; Haylie had heard things about the Hulk since his return as the Avengers. It was all over the news. He helped save New York from destruction a few times now. Nevertheless, she had her doubts on who he was as a friend, but he had always been nice to her. "Well, he told me that S.H.I.E.L.D. was following me because they were interested in the work I was doing at university. Fury offered me a position somewhere in S.H.I.E.L.D. as an immunologist."

"That's a little peculiar," Bruce said, wrinkling his brow. "You're nineteen, right? No offence, but you're merely an undergraduate."

"I agree, I'm not a special student or anything. But hey, this job offer sounds cool." Haylie noticed that the bar on the screen was three quarters of the way there. "Unfortunately, I have to stay here for a few days so I can go through protocol and all that. After that, I can get started under Section C. That's fine with me, since school is out back at home."

Bruce has his arms crossed and pursed lips. He knew better than to believe Fury's story that he fed Haylie. Although he wasn't a bad person, Bruce believed that there was another reason that they had brought the girl there. After all, he had asked the Avengers to come in nearly the same time as she had, and asked them to look after her.

"Okay, let's see what we have here." Bruce uncrossed his arms and worked furiously at the keyboards. "It looks like our guy was staying at a motel near Madison Avenue under the name Matthew Waters. Now it could be him, a ruse, a fake, I don't know."

"I don't really want to bring this up to Fury, just in case it's not him. It could be a waste of their time," Haylie said anxiously. "I'll call that number."

"Just pretend that you don't know anything about the double-crossing," Bruce suggested. "He knows that you're just a guest at HQ. There's a chance that he may think you're no longer here."

"Okay," Haylie said meekly.

After Bruce had created a fake caller ID that led to a hotel on Washington Street , Haylie picked up the phone and dialled the number that James Avery had scribbled onto a post-it note. Gulping, Haylie held her breath as she waited for a caller to pick up. She smiled in response to Bruce's confident thumbs up. Haylie relaxed around the sixth ring, but almost dropped the phone when someone picked up. Nearly stuttering, she mustered up the courage to say a simple, "Hello," into the phone.

"Who's this?" the voice gruffly asked.

"This is Haylie. Is that you, James?"

After a long pause and some scuffing around, James finally answered. "Yes it's me. I should have known it was you. Where are you now, Haylie?" There was an unidentifiable tone in his voice.

"They let me go a long time ago, so now I'm staying at a hotel here in New York," Haylie spoke with casualness. "Might as well do some sightseeing while I'm here."

"Do you… perhaps want to meet up sometime?"

Surprised, Haylie covered the phone and began to mouth at Bruce. He only shrugged and gestured to keep talking. "Of course I would," she exclaimed a little too excitedly. "I mean… if you're not busy with missions and S.H.I.E.L.D. Do you want to meet up tomorrow?"

"How about tonight? I can take you out to see the city," James suggested.

Haylie's heart was beating so hard, and not in the good way. She knew she was dealing with a criminal. She tried hard to put her drama lessons from high school to good use. "Okay, where do you want to meet? And when?"

"Tonight at ten, by Madison Square."

"Okay," Haylie squeaked. "I'll see you there."

Getting off the phone, Haylie started to freak out. "That was nerve-wracking. Never again."

"You did a good job," Bruce told her, petting her shoulder. "Relax, whether or not this is a trap planned by him, this is a good lead. You don't have to be a part of it either."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Haylie broke out into a grin. "Okay, as long as I don't have to see him."

As they left the room, Bruce asked her what had happened the previous day. The two were a little more comfortable with each other now. "I want to hear it personally from you."

Since Haylie trusted Bruce the most out of everyone she met that day, she decided to spill everything. Bruce patiently listened as she recounted every detail of what happened. It was engraved into her memory. The past two days were the most bizarre she had ever experienced. There was a part of her that desperately wanted to talk about it what had transpired. She skipped the part about the ring. "Um, there's more, but I don't know if I should mention it to anyone yet. I still have a lot of questions," she said honestly. "Which hopefully will be revealed in time. I'm not really the type that goes and looks for answers."

"Really?" Bruce was surprised. "So you aren't a take-charge kind of person?"

"No, I'm not. I can barely speak to adults because I get really shy. That's why I think I'll be cut out for a job in the lab, where I don't need to speak with people."

"Then how is it you can take to me normally?"

Haylie shrugged. "You're nice to everybody, and you don't look down on anybody."

Internally, Bruce laughed at himself. She was right. He didn't look down at anybody because he looked down on himself.

* * *

"No way."

"Come on."

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Not a chance."

"I think it's a great idea," Pepper Potts said cheerfully. "Having people over here would be way too crowded. Plus, what are you using the Stark Family Manor for, Tony? It's just sitting there collecting dust!"

"Now would be a good time to set up the Avengers Mansion," Nick Fury said, one hand tapping on the table he sat at. He was trying to get Tony to cave to the idea. It seemed to be working since he had the help of his fiancé. "Loki may have escaped, but he's not the threat this time. The Avengers need to be together. I found out from the girl that there seems to be another Norse god out there, so we all may be in trouble."

"Yeah, and you told me before that headquarters is getting too tight. Bruce, Steve, and Thor need somewhere to go, don't they?" Pepper added.

Tony's good friend Rhodey was at the kitchen counter pouring himself a drink. "Plus, I get to have my own room!" he hollered with a cheerful smile.

"Rhodey, you're not part of the Avengers," Tony pointed out. "I don't know, I planned on moving in there after we got married, Pepper. Never imagined it as a base for the group."

"Tony, I think it's an excellent idea," Pepper told him again. "You're always at HQ now. We'd get more chances to see each other if this worked out."

"What would I get out of this?" Tony inquired, looking Fury in the eye.

"Security defence, equipment…"

"I can easily create that for myself," Tony interrupted. "What else is there?"

"How about a chance to capture Avery?" Fury perked up.

Tempted, Tony crossed his arms. "Can I also call the shots from time to time?"

"You make them with or without our approval."

"So it's a deal?"

"Deal."

"Yeah! Party time!" Rhodey shouted. He suddenly coughed, embarrassed. "I mean, it's time to get down to business, because this is not how a Colonel acts. Tony Stark, you have a man to catch. Get to it."

"Aww I'm so proud of you." Pepper gave Tony a peck on the cheek. "Giving your family what it needs."

When Fury had left and Rhodey had buried himself in his laptop, Tony turned towards Pepper. "My family?" He raised a puzzled eyebrow at her. She simply smiled.

"They're one of the most important things to you. Of course they're your family. Besides, I want to know if you can handle being in charge one day, as the man of the house. As a father."

"Isn't that a little too early to think about?"

"We're engaged and getting married in six months. Haven't you at least thought about it?" Pepper unconsciously gave him a pout.

"Well, it's not that I haven't thought about it..." They stared at each other. "Okay I haven't. But Pepper, I've been focused on the company, the Avengers, and getting married to you. Do I have to add more to the list?" he nearly whined.

Pepper laughed at gave him another peck on the lips. "Just start to think about it, please. For me?"

When Tony left the Stark Tower with Rhodey, he was frozen and speechless. Rhodey poked him in the sides. At his nonresponse, he poked Tony in the cheek. "Hey man, snap out of it."

Blinking, Tony found himself staring at his best friend with an expression of fear. "I'm going to have a family one day." This one fact shocked him to no end. Earlier in his life, he had never considered the possibility of getting married and having kids. Meeting Pepper changed that. "How am… How am I supposed to do that?"

His friend coughed. "You don't need me to explain how to do that. Now listen up, Tony." Rhodey tried to grab the other man's attention. "This is extremely important. You have to keep in mind that I need… my own bedroom in your mansion with its own mini fridge and bathroom. After all we have been through together…"

"Yeah, will do," Tony said absentmindedly as they got into Rhodey's car. "Rhodey, do you think I'll be a good dad?"

"You'll be something for sure. Good is too much of a generic term."

Once Tony met up with Clint, Steve, and Bruce, he was in a better mood. The four of them sat inside a sandwich shop near Madison square, munching on a snack. "Before we beat up Avery, I have some news."

"What is it?"

"We're setting up the Avengers Mansion at my family's old manor, at fifth avenue Manhattan. You're all invited to come and move in." Tony broke out into a wide smile at his friends' expressions.

"Are you serious?" Clint exclaimed.

"Yeah." Tony kicked back his feet on a chair. "Even if you're living somewhere else, simply setting up a space for yourself there is fine with me."

"That would be great," Bruce said in a voice filled with gratitude. "We'd have a place to put all of our equipment and research in, and nobody would disturb us..."

"Other than Fury. It'll be near HQ and we can have a lot of guy time. It was my idea," Tony said proudly, cracking his knuckles and leaning back in his seat.

"I think Fury mentioned it the other day." Clint gave him a look.

"Well, I agreed to it."

The excitement that came from the news put Bruce in a good mood. He was half expecting to stay at HQ, half expecting to end up on the streets. Since the Avengers had been put together, he had become good friends with Tony. He was glad that the millionaire was on good terms with everyone. The team was getting closer. Nowadays, that's all he felt he had. Bruce checked his watch.

"Avery expects Haylie to be at Madison square at ten o'clock. Natasha's already got the entire place secured. He hasn't appeared on the radar so far. However, I think he _will_ want to see Haylie. And from what I've heard, Thor has managed to track down Loki. He's gone by himself to find his brother."

"A part of me expects Avery to not show up," Clint admitted. "I don't believe he'd dive into this, knowing that he's been wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D. for the past few hours."

"I don't think he'll go back to I.S.S.S. either," Steve stated his opinion confidently. The wheels in his head were spinning. "Avery has to have valuable information to go back to I.S.S.S. The briefcase he stole had nothing inside." Suddenly, the tall former soldier for the US Military suddenly pointed out the window. His sharp eyes narrowed at a figure across the street. "He's out there."

Everybody quickly sprang into action. Steve and Clint began to run outside after the spy, but Avery had already planned something. Without even turning around to see who was following him, he began to run. Ducking into the closest alleyway, he disappeared with the two Avengers in hot pursuit.

"I'll go up above," Tony said, also running into the nearest alley.

Bruce chose another route. Instead of chasing Avery down Madison Square, he walked with a quick pace to Avery's motel. His earpiece kept him informed about their chase. "I'm heading down to Avery's room, now that I know it's clear," Bruce told Natasha. "We know that he's hiding from both S.H.I.E.L.D. and I.S.S.S. now. We need to find out how much he knows in case he runs off and joins another agency."

Keeping his cool, Bruce entered the dark and musky motel room. The bed was unmade and there were food containers littered on the floor. Broken glass was also on the floor near the window.

Bruce wrinkled his nose. The stench of the room from tobacco smoke was so bad, it made him want to gag. Bruce knew it was important to keep calm and collected.

Immediately, he searched Avery's desk. There were files spread all across the table and floor. Picking up some of the papers, Bruce stuffed them into his bag.

There were weapons in the closet, which he also tossed into his bag. Other than the papers, there wasn't anything else suspicious Avery owned.

"We've lost Avery," Clint announced. "This guy is a little too good. He almost literally disappeared." There was frustration in his voice.

Turning to leave, Bruce caught notice of a couple of documents underneath the bed. He picked them up tentatively. "Haylie Park, born March 29, 1993." It was under the label of I.S.S.S. "Why does everything seem to go back towards this kid?" He felt a little sympathy for the girl. There really was a big reason why she was brought to New York. He felt like there wasn't much he could do to help.

"Before I kill you, I think there's no harm to say she's the direct target of I.S.S.S." Before he could blink, Bruce was slammed into the wall. James Avery had a knife pressed up against his neck. "But she has something that I need from her. Unfortunately, you're all standing in my way." Angrily, he tried to press the knife into his flesh.

"I wouldn't do that," he whispered calmly at the younger man. Avery was sweating profusely. His hand was shaking uncontrollably. "You remember the other guy? The Hulk? He'll undoubtedly rip you to shreds." Bruce started to shake. Despite the fact that he had gotten good control of the Hulk the past few months, he felt himself slipping.

"I don't care," Avery spat maliciously. "Because you see, I have something that surely changes things. It's magical… purely remarkable. Something that I'm sure can put an end to the green monster." The knife he had in his grip shone with a faint blue light. Bruce bit his tongue. He could feel the Hulk trying to get out, pulling at his insides, roaring, screaming. Somehow, he knew that this knife would hurt both of them. "Isn't that what you want? To be free of the Hulk?"

"Where did you get that?" Bruce's vision started to blur and his head pounding. He had to get away from the object.

"A little gift from a place far away."

"That's not yours." Someone else was in the room. Bruce couldn't see who it was.

There was a loud whack. Avery's unconscious body slid to the ground. A drop of blood slid down his cheek.

Bruce's eyes were wide and unseeing. Clutching his heart, hee also slid to the floor, panting uncontrollably. Every ounce of strength was used to keep the Hulk at bay. His mind was raging, and he started to see red. Pain rippled through his body, and Bruce started to tremble as the Hulk started to fight with him internally.

* * *

"Loki, what did you do to him?"

Thor rushed in after his brother burst into Avery's place. With his fist, Loki had effortlessly knocked Avery out. A devious smile was placed upon his lips. "I only recovered what was stolen from Asgard." He held up the glowing knife for his brother to see. The knife had the Asgard seal engraved in its blade.

The brothers propped Bruce into a sitting position against the wall. He was fighting something internally. Despite Thor's words, he wasn't aware of the outside world. Bruce's struggle caused him to hunch over in pain.

Surprisingly, the two of them had come together. Thor had found Loki at Central Park after tracking down a magical signature. A strange but strong magical surge had erupted in the park. Thor left without informing anybody else. He tried to talk some sense into Loki. The two fought verbally, but not unlike normal brothers.

_"Loki. I know you're here."_

_"Ssh." _

_His brother appeared out of the shadows dressed in his usual black clothes and cloak. His facial features were hardened as he tried to listen for something. _

_"Brother, I know that your powers are back. You're up to something."_

_"You are quick to make assumptions that are based on nothing but your judgement of me. That is a bad quality to have as king," Loki snapped. "If your opponent expects this out of you, he will use it to his advantage."_

_"Explain the surges of power that could be detected by satellite." Thor gestured towards the sky. There were splotches of a light up above that look similar to the aurora borealis. _

_Loki walked to his brother and pulled him down. Together, they knelt by a bush. They had to avoid being seen by the people strolling by in the park, who had come to stare in wonder at the lights. Thor grabbed Loki's shirt and pulled them face to face. __"I am tracking them down myself," Loki replied tensely._

_"Who is causing it?"_

_"Freyr."_

_"How do you know it is our dear friend?"_

_"Because I saw him, brother." Loki's eyes darkened at the mention of Freyr. With surprise, Thor let go of Loki's shirt, but his brother did not try to escape. "Freyr was sent here with me. He tried to kill me." He decided to be blunt about it. No one else was there. No one else was listening to the conversation between the two brothers. __He quickly recounted the news of the events from Midgard up to that point. _

_The god of thunder looked torn. "But… why?" Freyr had been their good friend while growing up. Hearing news like this upset the future king of Asgard._

_"I do not know." Loki shook his head. "After I left S.H.I.E.L.D., I found Freyr on the streets with the mortals. He had purposely called me out to taunt me, but he did not attempt to kill me then. He needs something else, an object that can be used to control demons and trap souls."_

_The other part of Loki's plan was getting the Seal of Solomon back from Haylie. He had stashed it with her because Loki knew that they would strip him of everything once they captured him. An innocent girl like Haylie wouldn't gather any suspicions. Loki had to get to her before Freyr did. This was why Avery was so keen on meeting up with Haylie. Unbeknownst to the agents, Freyr had stuck around and watched as Loki handed the ring over to the girl. Loki knew Freyr had witnessed the exchange. He told Thor this, but skipped the fact that he had handed it to a mortal girl._

_"The Seal of Solomon?" Thor breathed out a sigh. "How are we going to find it?"_

_"Avery is looking for it."_

_"The double agent?"_

_"After our encounter, Freyr froze me to the sidewalk, but I escaped and followed him thereafter. Freyr saw that he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. He's done his research since he's been on Earth, and decided to brainwash Avery and make use of him later."_

_"Like what you did to Barton?" Loki only smiled slickly in response. "Stark may be the only mortal that we are incapable of brainwashing. We could use that one day." Thor rubbed his eyes wearily. _

_"Will you help me get Freyr?"_

_"If you help track down Avery."_

Since then, the brothers had been trying to track Avery and/or Freyr. Getting through to Avery would lead them to Freyr. That was part of Loki's plan. They fought with Freyr and witnessed him turning into a duplicate of Avery. It was strange on Loki's part to be fighting alongside his brother again. Odd, but also a little comforting.

Now, the brothers knelt down next to Bruce, trying to calm him. The Hulk was slowly reappearing, his eyes flashing and disappearing every other moment. He was enraged. Thor put a hand on his back and uttered soothing words.

"The knife is drawing him out. Put it away," Thor commanded.

Obliging, Loki covered it with his cloak and also put a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Easy now, big guy. We need to save that rage for something bigger."

Bruce could hear them. He closed his eyes and tried to whisper to himself to keep the Hulk inside. It was a painful struggle. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He was red-faced and frantic.

"Are you going to come back with us?" Thor whispered to Loki. "Or should I let you go?" He was unsure of what Loki was thinking. His brother was too unpredictable.

"I shall help you bring this one back to your friends."

Each of the gods lifted Bruce's arms. "Bruce Banner, don't you dare lose yourself," Thor told him sternly. "Come on, friend. Fight."

With one arm helping Bruce stand, Thor used his other hand to pick up Avery's unconscious body. He swung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Let's go."

Leaving the motel, they found the night was quiet. Too quiet within the city for Loki's liking. "Brother, stay alert. Freyr's around here." He pursed his lips, ready for an attack.

Groaning, Bruce lifted his head and collected himself. The world was spinning, but the Hulk had managed to settle down. "Loki?"

"Do not fear him. He's here to help," Thor quickly informed him.

"That's something I thought I'd never hear."

They didn't take more then ten steps before Iron Man had found them. Within seconds, Loki was back on the ground, groaning in pain. Tony held up a laser to his face. "Why did he randomly decide to show up? What did you do to Bruce?" Tony growled.

"Stop! No, my brother is here to help." Thor stepped in-between his brother and the iron machine, dropping Avery as he did so. "His powers are weak and limited, so it would be unfair to fight him as he is now. Avery did this to Bruce."

Within a few minutes, Steve had jogged up to the group. "I thought I saw Avery down the other block," he told them, eyes darting instantly to Loki and then to Avery on the ground."His face magically changed into someone else's. At first, I thought it was Loki's doing. Now I think something else is going on."

"It's Freyr. He was working with Avery," Thor informed them. His face had hardened. "Loki is helping us."

Steve was shocked. "He is?" Loki had to chuckle at all the glares he was receiving. "Well, Avery then disappeared by the bookstore, literally. I don't think he'll return, seeing all the Avengers here." Steve patted Bruce on the back comfortingly. "Breathe. Don't focus on anything but breathing."

Tony Stark took off his helmet and pushed the others aside, trying to give Bruce some space. "Hey you guys take care of Loki and Avery. I'll make sure Bruce is alright." His eyes were fixed with worry at one of his closest friends. He felt like an overprotective older brother when it came to Bruce at times, because he was basically powerless in his regular human form.

They radioed in and informed Natasha that they were going back to HQ.

"I'll be coming back with you." Loki had straightened out his cloak and stared right back at Captain America's glare. "Not that you can prevent me from doing so. Isn't this what you wanted, to bring me back to your base?" He gave them a sly grin.

"There's a lot I feel like doing to you right now," Tony told him through gritted teeth.


End file.
